Tower Falling
by themadyjones
Summary: Magic. It's a word to spark imagination and creativity in the hearts of people of all ages. Magic is used for the entertainment of others... but it can be for something else, too. Magic can create the illusion of robbing a bank and jumping off a building. Magic can befuddle the minds of law enforcement. And magic can bring two people together against all odds.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a typical work day for me the day it all started. I was making my usual rounds, moving from street corner to street corner, looking for my next paying customer. And, before you start to get any ideas, I'm not a prostitute; I'm a magician.

I whistled a low tune as I walked, a mix of Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". It was utterly horrible to listen to and sounded like a dying moose, so it was a good thing that wasn't how I made my money. Anyone listening in at that moment would probably have gone deaf.

I shuffled my deck of cards in my hands as my feet carried me toward Central Park. I always got a good number of people to watch me there. My already collected change jingled in my pocket with every step that I took.

The half-shaded area beneath a tree looked like an okay spot to perform at, so I stopped there and pulled my black fedora off my head, surrendering my dark curls to the wind that was gently blowing. Resting one sneaker-clad foot on a tree root, I shouted out, "Hey, New York! Who wants to see some magic?"

Those simple words attracted a decent crowd right from the start, to my satisfaction. My gray eyes flitted from face to face, searching for the right volunteer. They landed on a man in his mid-twenties with reddish-blonde hair and a winning smile.

I motioned toward him. "Wanna help me with my first trick?" I grinned when he nodded. "Okay, handsome, what's your name?"

"Darren," he replied, his voice a tad bit higher than I'd expected.

Oh well. "All right, Darren, my name's Andie, and I want you – " I fanned my cards out facedown and held them toward Darren. " – to pick a card."

He did as he was told, selecting a random card from the middle. "Okay, you know the drill, memorize that card and show everyone but me." Darren turned the card toward the audience. "When you're done, stick it back into the deck. There you go. Lovely."

With that step completed, I shuffled the deck a few times before pulling a card off the top. It was the seven of spades. "Is this your card?" I asked.

Darren shook his head with a smile. "No."

I pretended to be disappointed. It was all part of the trick, of course. "No? You sure?" He nodded, and I chose the next card on top. The three of clubs. "What about now?"

"Nope," Darren laughed, thinking he'd beaten me.

I stuck my lower lip out in a pout. "This is stupid," I whined, setting the deck down on the grass.

Almost immediately, the cards caught fire and burned away to nothing. All except for one. I laughed, bending over to pick it up. Holding it between two fingers, I twirled it to show it to my adoring crowd. It was the deuce of hearts. "Is this your card?" I asked, already aware of what the answer was.

"Yes," Darren breathed, a look of amazement on his attractive face. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," I replied.

The crowd cheered and clapped; I accepted the applause with a smirk.

Darren stepped forward to whisper in my ear. "Can I get your number?"

I slid a pen out from where it was hidden in my sleeve, looking like I'd conjured it out of thin air. I tugged a curl behind my ear and hastily scribbled my number on his bare wrist. "There you go." I grinned. "Don't forget to give a tip," I added, indicating my hat that was now half-full of pocket change.

"I can give you better later," Darren said with a wink before walking away. As soon as he was out of sight, I rolled my eyes. Over confident douchebag.

The next few hours passed quickly, and I performed that first trick more than once after that. Gotta love flash paper. The sky was growing dark, so I collected my earnings and retreated to a nearby bench to count. On the way over, I bumped into a man in a dark hoodie, nearly falling to the ground in the process.

"Watch where you're going!" I snapped. I didn't wait for a reply as I stalked off.

The steady jingle of coins being dropped into my pocket filled my ears. I'd made a decent amount of money, and was quite proud of my own skills.

Laughter and the sound of several voices brushed away the thoughts of money. Looking up, I saw a group of people standing in a large cluster around what I assumed to be another magician. I stood, replacing my hat on my head with a quick flick of my wrist.

I melted easily into the crowd, unafraid of using my elbows to get to the front. Anything to watch another magician's tricks.

"I'm going to flip through this deck, and I want you to see one card," the magician, a man with dark, shaggy hair, was saying. He pointed to the card on the bottom, the deuce of hearts, the same card from my first trick. "Not this one, that's too obvious. Pay close attention."

He was talking to a woman with equally dark hair and eyes. Those eyes looked lustful, like she was stripping him with her mind. If he noticed, he showed no sign of caring as he flipped through the deck, too fast for her to catch.

He paused a moment. "That was too fast, I'll do it again. Are you ready? Okay." He did it again, slower this time. The seven of diamonds caught my eye, and I was almost positive she saw it too. "Now, did you see one?"

"Yes," she breathed, her voice almost a purr.

"Do you have one in mind?"

"Yes."

He fanned the deck out to show every card, but the seven of diamonds was missing. "Now, do you see your card here?"

It took her a moment to answer as she looked them over. "No," she said slowly, like she was stupid and didn't know if it was the right answer.

The guy wore an almost smirk as he replied, "That's because you're looking too closely. And what have I been telling you all night? The closer you look…"

"The less you see," the entire crowd chorused. And with that, he threw the cards behind him into the air, turning around as he did so to smile at something above my head.

I followed his gaze to see the seven of diamonds lit up on the front of the building before me. The crowd erupted into cheers, louder than I'd received. Nonetheless, I found myself feeling just a little bit impressed. This guy was good.

The girl he was performing the trick for had ventured closer and placed her hand on his arm. _Slut,_ I thought, almost amused by her antics.

The magician guy noticed me watching. His bluish eyes looked me up and down, like I was some object up for auction and he needed to know whether I was worth it or not. The slight curl of his lip and his following smirk told me I was, in fact, unworthy of his time and attention. And with that exam over and that lady attached to his elbow, he was gone.

"Dick," I muttered once he was out of earshot.

oOoOo

Back at my apartment later that night, I was removing my jacket when a card fluttered to the ground. It looked like a tarot card from what I could see, and had a tall tower pictured on the front. "The Tower" was printed underneath in blocky lettering.

On the back was an eye. As in _the_ Eye, the secret society all magicians with any sense strive to become a part of. And written in black ink on top of it was something beyond anything I could ever hope for in my wildest dreams.

A date.

March 29

4:44 pm

4 East Evan St. NY, NY

I was joining the Eye.


	2. Chapter One

**Hey guys! I gotta say, I love you all SO MUCH right now. I had 8 reviews in only a few days, and a ton of views as well! Special thank you to the people who did review: samasbananas, Lizzy B, Guest, .ivy, alicesmartt13, Aerielle, SwanQueen4055, and erik'sgirlforever. Thank you all so much for motivating me to get this chapter out a lot faster than I normally would :)**

Chapter One

Days later, on March 29, I woke up at five in the morning out of sheer anticipation for the coming evening. The sky was still dark outside my bedroom window, but I was too anxious to go back to sleep. Instead, I rolled out of my bed onto the thinly-lined carpet floor and stood to go take a shower.

I was in there longer than I probably should have been, because when I got out it was going on six-thirty and the sun was starting to peek out on the horizon. Regardless, I smelled good, my legs were shaved, and the hot water had worked wonders on my tense muscles.

Wrapped up in the fluffiest towel I could find, I padded across the floor to my closet. _What to wear…_ I thought, my hands on my hips as I pondered. Usually, I didn't care what I looked like, but if this thing with the Eye was serious, then I needed to look at least halfway decent.

After slipping into my typical black-bra-and-underwear deal, I tugged on black skinny jeans and a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows. Lace-up black boots went next. Then I tugged a brush through my hair, deciding to let it dry on its own, and slapped my fedora on my head.

A successful magician outfit and it was only a quarter to eight!

By then, my stomach was growling, so I grabbed a few twenties out of their hiding place with my socks. That should last me the whole day.

There was a Starbucks a few blocks over from my apartment, so that's where I went first. My usual breakfast order was a mocha frappuccino and whatever muffin pleased me at the time. That day it was a blueberry one.

I sat at a table and ate my muffin, taking tiny sips of coffee through the straw. I was trying to make my drink last, but chances were I'd have to come back and get another in the afternoon.

I tossed my empty wrapper in the trash and exited the coffee shop, still sipping lovingly from my frappuccino. My next destination was the nearest bookstore, which was where I spent most of my free time whenever I wasn't performing tricks. On that particular day, I was planning on staying until lunch.

The musty smell of book pages greeted me as soon as I opened the door. I smiled; I loved the bookstore. My feet knew exactly where to go, so I let them lead me toward the romance novels. They were a secret fetish of mine, those books. I didn't really believe in true love or love at first sight, but those stories were entertaining to read. I mostly ended up making fun of them.

I grabbed _Fifty Shades of Grey_ to see what all of the fuss was about. After reading it for hours, however, I felt scarred in ways I didn't know I could be. So, I put that book back, paid for some other books of various genres, and left to get lunch.

Subway didn't sound too bad. I was in the mood for a sandwich. I fast-walked the few streets in between before wrenching open the door and inhaling the sweet scent of baking bread. I was seriously in good-smell heaven.

After a short lunch consisting of a BLT, baked Lays, and a Pepsi, it was almost two-thirty. I jogged back to Starbucks, bought myself a caramel macchiato, and then chugged it down on my way home. I had only two hours before I needed to be at the designated address, and I still wasn't exactly sure where 4 East Evan Street was.

I tossed my empty cup in the garbage and ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I tried to put some order to my curls, but that feat was impossible, so I set my hat back on my head and called it a day. That is, after I swiped on a coat of mascara and a lining of chapstick.

I still had a good fifty minutes before I had to leave, so I settled onto my bed and flipped on the TV. Channel surfing was an excellent pastime.

I stopped on some random show to see a man being interviewed. That man was none other than Thaddeus Bradley, the annoying twit who made money by debunking magicians' tricks. He was arrogant as hell and was the bane of every magic maker's existence. I scowled at the irritating way he spoke, and hated the woman interviewing him for laughing at the jokes he made.

When I couldn't stand to watch him anymore, I pressed the "off" button and threw my remote against the wall. Something about him pissed me off to no end.

By the time I'd calmed down enough to put on my shoes without dropping them, it was time for me to leave. I ran a shaky hand through my hair once before replacing my hat on my head. After making sure my tarot card was still in my pocket, I took a deep breath and opened my apartment door. It was time for the adventure to begin.

I had no clue how to get to East Evan Street, so I hailed a taxi and hoped for the best. Luckily, taxi drivers were more knowledgeable than I gave them credit for, as we arrived at a rundown-looking group of apartments in ten minutes flat. Grinning madly by now, I passed over the money I owed him and climbed out into the street.

The blaring of a car horn split my ear drums and I jumped out of the way. My taxi driver laughed at me before pulling away from the curb and squealing off down the road.

Placing a hand over my rapidly beating heart, I fast-walked to the sidewalk, getting safely out of the reach of passing vehicles.

"All right, so here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna scope the place out. You wait out here. I'm gonna come back and get you, okay? Do not come in," spoke a man's voice.

For a brief moment I thought someone was addressing me, but when I looked to my left, toward 45 East Evan Street, I saw a man with dark hair and a man purse talking to a woman with fiery red hair and a coffee cup. The man's appearance and voice struck a familiar chord within me, and it took me a few moments to realize he was the magician from a few nights previous, the one who'd looked at me like I was no better than a bug. And he was way more attractive than I'd remembered.

"Hey, Danny?" the woman said as she walked toward the ancient-looking door.

The man, apparently called Danny, stopped to stare at her. "Yeah?"

The woman opened the door and stepped inside. "Not your assistant anymore." As an afterthought, she added, "Nice hair." Then she disappeared inside.

Danny stood there for half a second before going after her. "So, actually, uh, what – what have you been up to?"

Interested in this private conversation, I rushed forward and slipped in behind him, just before the door shut on me. From what I'd observed about who Danny was and where we were at that moment, I assumed that Danny and his lady friend had also each received a tarot card like me.

"I think you know exactly what I've been up to, Danny. I saw all your 'anonymous' postings on my website," the redhead continued, walking up a flight of stairs.

Danny was just behind her, and I followed along. They didn't seem to notice I was there. Of course, I was wearing tennis shoes, so my footsteps were a lot quieter than the ginger in her boots.

"You have a website?" Danny asked, trying to pretend he had no idea what she was talking about. "That's good. Good for you. Get the word out."

Something about the way he said it came off as extremely sarcastic and further solidified my opinion of him being a major douchebag. I choked down a snarky comment as we reached a landing at the top of the stairs. Automatically, I sank back into the shadows of the stairs.

In front of the door at the end of the short hall stood a tall man in his late forties. He wore a black fedora perched on top of his bald head. I already liked him, just by seeing his hat that looked similar to mine. He had laugh lines by his eyes and his mouth, indicating that he was a generally humorous person. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Danny and the redhead. "Oh. 'Kay. So, apparently, none of us was the only one chosen. Let me be the first one to kick my ego to the curb."

I grinned from the darkness. Yeah, I definitely liked this guy.

Danny strode forward and indicated the door. "Uh, excuse me."

"Door's locked."

"Is it?" Danny asked, moving toward the door anyway. "I'll check."

I rolled my eyes at his back before directing my attention toward the fedora man and the redhead. Fedora was talking to her now. "You… Now, hold it, don't tell me. Uh… Helen? No no… Henley."

_A mentalist…_ I realized with a small smile. If I had to hang around these three for a while, things would definitely get interesting.

"It's on your coffee cup," Danny cut in, glancing over his shoulder.

The man barely indicated he'd heard. "Thanks for keeping me honest. But that wasn't mentalism, by the way. That was just an observation." He smiled at Henley. "Second observation: you are beautiful."

Danny was looking very red in the face from behind the guy's tall shoulder. Henley merely returned Fedora's smile. "Thank you."

"Okay that's very – very nice. Very well polished. Nice bit." Danny came forward to offer his hand. "J. Daniel Atlas. Nice to meet you." The fedora man flipped him his middle finger, which made me giggle from my hiding spot. "Very nice."

I was tempted then to move forward and present myself, but Danny, or Daniel, as I was now going to call him, kept going. "I know who you are and I just wanna say, I'm not interested in you doing your, uh, your mentalism thing on us, especially when we don't know who brought us here or even if it's real."

"Jesus, do you have a speech impediment or something? You sure stutter a lot." I strode out of the shadows and went to stand across from Daniel. "And you should stop being so narcissistic. It's kind of annoying."

Daniel stared at me like I'd sprouted another head. "I'm sorry, uh, what – what are you – who are you – "

I put on a falsely cheery grin. "I know you!" I giggled.

Daniel's face suddenly melted into a look of arrogance. "Oh, a fan? Great, that's great!" He smiled at me and offered his hand.

I gripped it tightly, to his obvious surprise. "You're that dick from the park the other night!" His bluish eyes widened a bit, like he recognized me a little. "I'm Andie Kiss-My-Ass." The fake smile never left my lips.

Henley and the man with the fedora burst into laughter at Daniel's slightly confused facial expression. Henley even went so far as to pull me into a hug. The fedora man stepped forward to shake my hand. "Merritt McKinney," he chuckled, winking at me.

"Andie White," I replied, holding out my other hand to Henley, even though I knew her name.

She smiled, lighting up her pretty twenty-something appearance. "Henley Reeves."

Merritt clapped me on the back while I stood there and grinned, giggling at my behavior with Henley. I was already starting to like these two.

Daniel was now trying to splutter out some belated retort, but Merritt quickly shushed him, holding his fingers to his head. "Sh…" Henley laughed again. "Hold on, I'm sensing… I'm sensing you… are a control freak?"

I was almost holding my stomach and doubling over in pain from the force of my laughter. Daniel's expression was priceless. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

Henley cut in. "It doesn't take a mentalist to figure that out. You are a control freak."

"Well, I take that as a compliment."

Henley rolled her eyes at Merritt and I. "Only _he_ would take it as a compliment."

"Okay. Great. Good. Another compliment."

"Wow," Henley muttered, while I said, quietly to myself, something more along the lines of "shut up, you arrogant dick".

Merritt had been watching the short exchange quietly, his eyes following back and forth to listen to each speaker. Now, he spoke up. "Okay, so that's why you're no longer a couple."

The effect of those words on Henley and Daniel was immediate. "Couple? Oh, no, we were never a couple," they sputtered, almost in unison. I grinned. They were totally together at some point.

"He used to saw me in half," Henley continued, almost pleading with me to believe her.

"She was a very good assistant," Daniel added.

Henley turned to glare at him. "Yeah, but I was too fat for Danny."

"No, I said that _one time_, because of the – the trap door. Narrow space." Now it was Daniel trying to convince me he was in no wrong.

The redhead held up her hands to indicate a tiny box. "You built it this size. No one could fit through there. _No one_."

"Rebecca fit through there," Daniel sneered. "Rebecca fit through there for _years_."

"Do you know how hard it is to fit into those tiny little costumes?" Henley demanded, stepping forward until she was almost in his face. I was tempted to split the two of them up, but decided I was too entertained by the scene to do it.

Daniel scoffed. "Uh, no, I'm the main attraction."

I held out my hand to push at Daniel's shoulder, moving him away from Henley before they started throwing punches. "Okay, okay, that's a bit too far. Time to shut up now, Daniel."

Merritt was busy consoling Henley. "Okay, so he never made you feel special. And, trust me; you deserve to be made to feel special."

"Enough with the flirting, Merritt," I laughed, winking at Henley, who was now smiling faintly. Merritt just shrugged my little comment off and smirked at Daniel's borderline-angry face.

"That's a very – a really nice story. You guys enjoy each other's company." He turned to go, but the sight of someone walking up the stairs stopped him.

The person was a young man with dark brown hair and matching brown eyes. He looked like he was in his early twenties, and wore an old leather jacket and a black t-shirt with dark jeans and boots. In all honesty, he wasn't that bad looking. I was actually in some pretty attractive company between him and Daniel. I mean, they weren't Brad Pitt, for sure, but they weren't really that bad. Daniel's only problem was that he was a bag of dicks.

"No way," the guy breathed, stepping toward us. "J. Daniel Atlas?"

I raised my eyebrows. Really? A fan of Daniel? Well, if that wasn't a turnoff, then I don't know what is.

He moved forward to shake Daniel's hand. "Dude, I have seen everything you have ever done. I mean, you're like… I-I idolize you. Seriously."

"A true fan," Daniel greeted, throwing me a "what now" look. However, I was too stuck on the fact that this new guy stuttered too, if just slightly. "It's so nice to meet you."

Somehow, I didn't think that was true.

"I'm Jack, by the way," the young guy added.

Merritt cleared his throat. "Question: did you get one of these?" He held up a tarot card. In the midst of all the arguments and such, I'd almost forgotten what we'd come here for.

Jack dug around in his pockets. "Yeah, um, yeah." Finally finding it, he showed it to the four of us. "Death." The smile he wore while saying that kind of worried me.

Henley offered up her own card. "The High Priestess."

"The Lover," Daniel muttered somewhat smugly.

Henley coughed "three minutes" and the smugness was dropped.

"Hermit," Merritt sighed. I couldn't help but laugh a little at that one.

I extracted my own card from my pocket, and took half a second to study the drawing of a tower that was being struck by lightning. A faceless person was falling off the top of it. Very curious. "The Tower," I stated, flashing it at them.

Jack shuffled nervously on his feet. "So, what are we – are we – we waiting for someone? Why – why are we – "

"The door's locked," Daniel and Henley said in unison, glaring at each other in the process.

Jack's face broke into a grin. "Oh, no, nothing – nothing's ever locked." And with that, he went to the door, pulled something out of his pocket, and stuck it into the keyhole. Seconds later, the lock was picked, and the door swung open.

We all stood right behind him, taking the time to inspect the apartment from the safety of the hall. I nudged Jack with my elbow. "What, are you some kind of criminal?" I was only half-joking.

Henley was the first to step in, brandishing a flashlight. "What is this place?"

The rest of us filed in behind her. Daniel, Jack, and Merritt also had their own flashlights, and I was beginning to feel a little left out. Why would I have even bothered to remember to bring a flashlight in the first place? I mean, really, why did they even have them? It wasn't _that_ dark. Granted, the lights were also all off.

We came upon a bathroom, which was covered from floor to ceiling in dust and grime. It was disgusting, and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. The smell of rotting food hung in the air, but I couldn't see a kitchen, so I wasn't sure where it was coming from.

"Oh. Wow. Thought _my_ apartment was nasty," Merritt murmured from beside me. I raised my eyebrows at him, but he just shrugged.

"Man, it's freezing in here," Jack noted from my other side. Regardless, he was walking close enough to me that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. I made a mental note to stick by his side.

We stumbled upon a room that was completely empty other than a folded piece of paper, a rose, and a vase of water. "What's that?" Henley asked, indicating the paper.

"I don't know," Daniel answered, taking a few steps forward to pick it up.

"What's it say?" Merritt asked.

"'Now you don't'?" he read aloud, a puzzled look on his face.

Henley had gone over to the rose and scooped it up, twirling it between her fingers. "A rose by any other name," she sang quietly, dropping it into the water.

Immediately after, the water drained out of the vase from the bottom.

"Guys, what's happening?" Jack asked, appearing right by my shoulder. I stepped a little closer for heat and shrugged.

"Woah. Look at that," Merritt breathed as Daniel also made a noise of awe.

The tiny stream ran along the dusty wooden floor toward a carving of five rectangles connected by a few lines. Once the marks were completely full, they descended a few inches and out poured a white gaseous substance.

Jack grabbed my elbow and pulled me back a ways. "It's gas!" he exclaimed. I was a little touched by his concern for my safety, but I knew what it really was.

"Relax, it's just dry ice," Merritt replied, confirming my suspicion.

"Cool," Henley said.

Daniel was on the verge of pacing. His expression was of utmost seriousness as he slowly asked, "Wait, what do you think this is all about?"

Merritt put one hand to his temple and closed his eyes, concentrating on something only he could see. "Hang on, hang on…" A few seconds passed, and then a few more, as we all waited in anticipation. "I got nothing," he finally said, opening his eyes.

"Okay, thank you. Thank you for the delay," Daniel replied sarcastically.

"I'm just trying to create the space for wisdom," Merritt defended, looking a little miffed at Daniel's snarky comment.

But Daniel wasn't done. "Okay, so – so you're like Buddha, if he wasn't so enlightened."

"And you're like Jesus if he was arrogant and all his miracles were fake," Merritt shot back quickly. I had to stifle a bit of a laugh at the both of them. They were grown men, and they fought like eight-year-olds with bigger words.

Henley took that time to cut in. "Okay, lovebirds, get a room." Both men's eyes got big and their mouths hung open. "Danny, be honest, did you do this?" Henley continued, turning her attention to Fake Jesus.

"No. Wait, did you?" He pointed to Jack, who had been quietly standing by during the short squabble.

Jack grinned a little nervously. "Well, I wish."

All of their eyes turned to me. I held up my hands. "Oh, you got me. I totally took the time to bring the four of you, who I've never met before, to a dirty old apartment just to be funny." I pushed my sleeves back up my arms, as they were slipping down. "Sorry, not me."

"Why didn't anyone ask if I did it?" Merritt complained. When none of us answered, he frowned. "Oh. Oh, great."

Daniel was off to the side of the room, flicking the light switch. Nothing happened. "Electricity's out," Jack called from a different spot in the room.

Merritt was standing underneath one of the creaky overhead lights that looked ready to fall at the slightest touch. He reached up to one of the light bulbs. "Well, let's check," he muttered, and then twisted the bulb.

To everyone's surprise, the light flickered on, as did a handful of blue lights from the corners of the room. Their beams hit together in the center, and up popped a revolving diagram, lots of words, and so much information I could hardly take it all in right away.

"Blueprints," Henley breathed, stepping forward to get a closer look.

"They're incredible," Daniel added, standing across the blue mass from me. His eyes darted to my face for a split second, and then they were back on the image in front of us.

Jack spoke up. "Who do you think did this?"

I shrugged, while Henley answered, "I don't know, but I really wanna meet them." She paused a moment, taking the time to look at each of us. "It's a show."

I realized she was right after studying it a bit more. And, like Daniel had said, it really _was_ incredible. And we all had to do this together? That'd be interesting.

Simultaneously, Merritt and I spoke. "Wow."


	3. Chapter Two

***All right everybody, thus ends the three part Mady's Birthday Celebration. If you're wondering why three stories were updated, that's because three is my favorite number, it's my birthday, and you guys are my favorite people, so I wanted to give you all a present, too! Thanks to everybody who reviewed this story, it almost made me cry to see how many people liked my stuff. Also, to the Guest who commented, saying that you saw this exact same story on Wattpad, that's because I've got a Wattpad account too, except I'm under madyjones instead of themadyjones. So, I apologize for the confusion, and I hope all of you LOVE this chapter! Check out Animo and The Seer if you haven't already, as they both got new chapter's today, too!***

Chapter Two

Two months later, the five of us were seated in my apartment. Merritt was lying across my couch, Daniel was sitting backward on one of my kitchen chairs, Henley was on my kitchen counter, and Jack and I were lounging across my bed. This was typically how we spent the day, claiming our various seats and talking over the plans for our first real show.

Why were we in my apartment, you ask? Because we were supposed to be staying in that dumpy old place where we all met for the first time, and it was way beyond our abilities to repair. So, instead of trying to fix it on our own, we pooled what money we had and hired someone to do it for us. As for where my apartment comes in, we needed a place to meet and discuss the aforementioned plans. Daniel wasn't willing to invite us over to his place, and Henley and Jack said nothing on the matter. Merritt offered his place up, but remembering what he'd said about the state of his apartment, I quickly cut in and volunteered.

"Andie, have you figured out where Étienne is yet?" Daniel asked me, tapping his chewed pencil against his forehead.

I ignored him, as my cell phone had just vibrated in my pocket. Jack didn't even move; he was used to it by now. Unlocking the device, I saw I had a message from Darren. Again. The guy was pretty clingy.

_Sup gorgeous?_ was the greeting.

One-handed, I sent back _Nothing_ and then set my phone off to the side. His conversations were usually pretty boring, as they mostly just consisted of him asking me out to dinner almost every night and me replying that I was busy with friends. Which wasn't a lie, although I wouldn't exactly call Daniel a friend. He was more of a coworker that you didn't look forward to seeing. The rest of them I was rather fond of, though.

"Andie?" Daniel asked, trying to get my attention.

I didn't give it to him, as Darren had texted back. _Wanna come over tonight? I can show you a good time._

I rolled my eyes. _Not tonight. Busy. Some other time, maybe. _That was a pretty big "maybe", too.

"Andie, we don't have time for you to be texting your boyfriend!" Daniel snapped, finally fed up with my avoidance. I glanced over at him to see him frowning at me, twisting his pretty face into something less than so.

I sighed. "Étienne is currently at home in France. He's returning to America for a half-year vacation in three months. We don't need to worry about his location for another eight months, at least. We were given a year to prepare, remember? Now calm yourself down." Henley, Merritt, and Jack stifled their laughter, while Daniel looked a little taken aback.

I glanced at my phone, which had vibrated again. "Besides, Darren's not even my boyfriend. I'm pretty sure he's just gay and hasn't realized it yet, like someone else I know." I threw a thoughtful glance Daniel's way. "Hey, do you watch football?"

"No, why should I?" he replied indignantly, confused by the question.

"Any sport?"

"No, Andie."

A small smirk danced across my lips. "And you do magic. I bet you get all the chicks, don't you, Daniel?"

His face flushed. "I'm not gay!"

I shrugged. "Never said you were."

By now, our three comrades were gasping for breath as they laughed. "Andie, you need to warn me before you say something like that," Merritt complained, holding his stomach. "I haven't recovered from your last joke yet!"

"But if you'd been expecting it, it wouldn't have been as funny," I grinned.

As Merritt and I were the two to cause the most havoc within the group, whether it be with jokes, pranks, or simple observations taken out of context, I was closest with him. Jack helped out a lot, so he was a close second. And Henley was a girl, so, naturally, the two of us had to stick together. That left Daniel to be my least favorite, for reasons I feel don't need to be explained.

I sat up on my elbows and stretched my back out. A sharp _crack_ resounded in the room, and Jack flinched from beside me. "That sounded like it hurt," he said. I just shrugged. It felt good once it was over.

All stretched out and satisfied, I rolled onto my back and hung my head off the end of my bed. I quickly checked Darren's latest message: _Darn. But you'll keep texting me, right?_

"Nope," I muttered, deleting all evidence of our conversation from my phone. Slipping it back into my pocket, I looked Daniel's way. "And what have you contributed to this meeting, hm? Do you have an idea as to how we're going to steal the money from France?"

Daniel rested his chin on the back of the chair and blew out a puff of air, ruffling his hair and making it fall partially into his face. "France has its money delivered in armored trucks, yes?"

"Right," Henley answered, hopping off the counter to get herself a glass of water.

"So if we could find a way to get inside the trunk, then we could get the money."

I snorted. "And how do you propose we get inside the truck?"

Jack flipped over so he was in the same position as me. He put his hands behind his head. "Security can't be too bad, can it?"

"An armored truck carrying three million or so euros? No, not at all. I'm sure they'll just let us walk right in," Merritt replied sarcastically from his spot on the couch.

Daniel's fingertips on his left hand were drumming against his thigh, a habit he adopted whenever he was thinking hard about something. His eyes were focused on the wall directly in front of him, but they weren't seeing it. They had a faraway look, and were slightly clouded over. "If we could just catch them before they leave, then we could take over as security. We're not famous yet. No one knows us. It'd be simple."

"So, what are we supposed to do? A couple of us sneak into the trunk and hide under the money, while the rest follow behind on those bike things?" I asked, completely joking. But every face was now turned in my direction, mulling over the idea. "Guys, I was kidding."

Henley tapped her chin with her finger. "It's a good idea, though. You, me, and Danny could hide underneath the money, and Merritt and Jack could pretend to be security and ride behind us."

"No, no, no, I can't be under the money," I protested. "I'm claustrophobic."

"But the three of us are the smallest, besides Jack. No offense, Merritt," Henley apologized. Merritt just waved the comment off with a smile. "But we need Jack to unlock the back of the truck once we stop. Security officers don't ride double on their motorcycles."

I sighed and rolled onto my stomach again. "But – "

"Andie, we need you to do this," Daniel cut in, staring at me with hardened eyes.

"Fine," I snapped. "I'll do it. But don't blame me if I have a panic attack while under there and screw everything up. You brought it on yourselves."

Henley shook her head. "You won't screw everything up. You'll be fine."

Jack looked like he was thinking over the meaning of life. That's how serious his face was. "Claustrophobic, huh?" he asked me, looking at me with those big brown eyes of his. "So if I were to throw a blanket over you, would you freak out?"

"No, but I'd probably punch you."

"Okay." He paused. "What if all of us jumped on you?"

I glared at him. "Are you trying to kill me?" He shrugged.

All this talk of confined spaces was starting to make my skin crawl. Being in my tiny apartment with four other people was wearing on me. "I need some air," I said, sliding off my bed. I crossed over to my dresser, grabbed a deck of cards off of it, and put it in my pocket. "I'll be back in an hour or so. Don't touch my stuff or I'll stab you in the neck while you sleep." That warning was mostly for Daniel and Merritt. I trusted Henley, as a girl.

"Take Jack with you," Daniel ordered. To Jack, he added, "Don't let her get into trouble."

I scoffed as Jack tumbled off the bed. "Trouble? Me?" I set my fedora on my head. "What a thought. Let's go, Klepto."

"After you," he replied, grabbing his leather jacket from the coat rack by the door. He then proceeded to open the door for me, holding it until I was through, and then closed it behind him.

We walked out of my apartment building and down the street in silence. It was around five at night, so there was still enough light that street lamps weren't needed. People were walking on both sides of the street, in both directions. After a few more minutes of quiet, I looked at my companion. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Where do you usually perform?" was his answering question.

"Central Park." I nodded ahead of me, toward the park's general direction.

He looped his arm through mine. "Central Park it is, then."

oOoOo

An hour later, the crowd we'd gathered was screaming and clapping. I'd just pulled a folded up playing card out of Jack's mouth. It was kind of gross, but pocket change was flying into my hat from left and right. The nice thing about having Jack as my partner in crime was that he knew how to do it all already, so he knew exactly how he was supposed to act, and he knew the right volunteers to pick out of the crowd. He even performed some tricks of his own, after I'd discouraged his stealing a man's wallet.

"Thank you, ladies and gentleman, and good night," he called out above the applause. He picked up my hat from where it lay on the ground and handed it over.

I gave him a high five. "Dude, I think that's more money than I've ever made!" I grinned. "This calls for celebratory coffee."

He smiled back. "Lead the way."

After dumping the bills and change into my pockets, I rested my hat on my head once more and started to walk toward Starbucks. Jack fell into step beside me, and a comfortable silence fell around us all the way to the coffee shop.

We each gave the lady our order and then stood off to the side, waiting for them to be prepared. She called our names out shortly after, and we paid the cashier and then left the joint behind, taking our time on the walk back to my apartment.

"What do you think they got accomplished while we were gone?" Jack took a sip of his beverage and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, Henley and Daniel probably had an argument, which Merritt probably intervened in. Something of mine is probably smashed into bits, and the three of them are probably gone by now," I answered.

Jack laughed. "So nothing unusual, then?"

My cellphone rang then, and I rolled my eyes. Probably Daniel. I hit the call button and held it to my ear. "What the hell did you break?"

"Excuse me?"

Shit. "Oh, hey, Darren. What's up?" Jack looked confused as we stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. He tried mouthing words to me, but I waved him off.

"Who's that guy you're with?" Darren questioned, ignoring me.

My jaw dropped and I spun in a circle, staring at the people around me in the fading light. "Wait, are you _spying_ on me?" I exclaimed, turning my wide blue eyes to Jack in bewilderment.

Darren's high voice had a hint of pride to it. "Maybe I am. Now, who's that guy with you?" he asked again.

"Just a friend," I answered with a frown.

"Just a friend who comes by your apartment almost every day, along with those two other men and that woman? Who are they, Andie?"

I let out a shaky breath and ran a hand through my hair. Trying to remain calm, I inquired, "Darren, how do you know where I live?"

"Remember that first day I met you?"

I nodded, and then realized he couldn't see that. "Yes."

"I followed you home."

Jack came closer and settled a protective arm around my shoulder, pulling me against his side. His brown eyes were alert, glancing about our surroundings, trying to see where Darren was watching from. "I can't see him," he whispered, although I was pretty sure he didn't even know what Darren looked like.

I settled in under Jack's arm, suddenly feeling a lot braver. "Why the hell are you doing this, Darren?" I demanded.

"Tell him to stop touching you. I don't like it."

"Why are you doing this?" I shouted, drawing the attention of a few passersby.

Darren's voice got quieter, like my shouts had subdued him. "Because you're _my_ girlfriend, not theirs. I don't like you being near them. You should come stay with me for a while, Andie. We could have a good time."

"You're insane," I said just as softly.

"Am I?"

I clenched my fist around my phone, still holding my coffee in the other hand. "We haven't even seen each other face to face! We've only been texting every so often! That is _not_ enough to declare an actual relationship, Darren!" I snapped, getting close to my breaking point.

Darren was practically laughing at me now. "But we could change that."

"Stop stalking me!" I burst out, pressing the end button and slamming the phone back into my pocket. Then I wrapped my arms around Jack's waist, burying my face in his chest.

Jack chuckled a little, and it made his body shiver. "So I see you've got an admirer, huh? When do I get to meet him?"

I pulled away and punched him in the arm. "Never."

He just laughed again and put a hand on my shoulder. "We should probably be getting back. Danny's gonna be worried by now."

I snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure he will."

"Hey, come on now. Danny's a lot nicer than you think he is. And cares a lot more about the four of us than he'll admit." Jack bumped me with his hip and grinned. "You just gotta give him a chance."

I raised my eyebrows. "Jeez, Jack, when did you become such a girl?"

He laughed, a full throated, from the stomach, laugh that made me burst into laughter along with him. Talking with Jack was so easy, and he was a riot and just fun to be around. I was glad to have him in this group, especially now that he knows how much a jerk and a creep Darren is. "Do you think I should tell them?" I asked suddenly, staring at the sidewalk below my feet.

Jack shrugged. "I'm sure they'd like to know, but do what you want. If you don't want me to tell, then I won't."

I smiled and wrapped my arm around his waist again in an awkward side hug. "Thanks, Jack."

And I meant it, too. Jack was like the older brother I never had, and together with the rest of the team, I finally felt like part of a family. And I couldn't imagine anything better.


	4. Chapter Three

***Woo, guys, another chapter! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that read and/or reviewed this story. I love you all, so don't you ever forget it! The next chapter will hopefully be up sometime soon, so just hold on for that. Also, this chapter is short and pretty boring, and for that I apologize. On another note, a new chapter for My Animal should be up soon. Now that the play I was in is over, I should have lots more time to write! So, bye guys, hope you like the chapter! Love you!***

Chapter Three

Jack and I made it back to my apartment soon after, walking much faster than normal. Darren's confession of stalking me had me feeling completely exposed out in the open. Although, according to him, he could see me in my apartment as well. Note to self: start changing in the bathroom. Things were better with Jack beside me, though; he could throw playing cards like a boss.

When I opened my apartment door, I wasn't surprised to find Henley holding Daniel in a headlock while Merritt stood by and cheered her on. I was, however, surprised to find that all of my stuff was still intact.

"Nope, they're still here," Jack laughed, walking inside after me.

At his words, three heads snapped to our direction. Henley released Daniel, who stumbled once before regaining his feet. Merritt started to whistle and stare at the ceiling, like he had nothing to do with whatever happened in our absence.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Where have you two been?"

I crossed to my kitchen table and emptied my pockets of all the money they contained. "Jack and I were earning money while the three of you were biting each other's heads off. Or, should I say – " I raised my eyebrows at Daniel and Henley. " – _twisting_ each other's heads off. I'm so glad you guys got some work done."

After he'd put his eyes back in his head from witnessing the amount of cash we'd earned, Daniel rolled his eyes. "There's not much point making a plan when the rest of the team isn't here."

"So it's okay to attack each other?" I smirked. "I see I've had my priorities completely wrong. Thanks for the lesson, guys."

Merritt, who was leaning against the wall, spoke up. "What's got you all fired up?"

I shot a quick glance at Jack. He shrugged, as if to tell me to do what I want. I was then caught between the decision as to whether I should tell the rest of the gang what had happened with Darren, or just keep it confined to Jack and myself. Swallowing hard, but fully determined as to what I was going to do, I managed to choke out, "Darren."

"Darren?" Henley asked, coming a little closer. "That guy you've been texting for a couple months?"

I nodded. "Yeah. That's him." I was met with questioning stares. "He's been stalking me. He doesn't want me to be around you guys anymore. He's jealous."

"I thought you said he isn't your boyfriend?" Daniel cut in, looking slightly miffed about something. Did Darren demanding that I quit the group bother him that much?

I crossed my arms. "He _isn't_ my boyfriend," I insisted. "He's delusional. But I thought I'd warn you guys, just in case he tries to attack you or something." That sounded completely ridiculous once the words left my mouth, but there was no helping that now. Darren was obviously crazy; who knew what he'd do?

There was an uncomfortable silence after that. Everyone's face looked slightly disturbed. Daniel cleared his throat again after a little while. "Does he know we're here?"

I nodded, setting my jaw and glaring at the window that looked out onto the streets below. "Yeah. He followed me home the night I got my card."

My phone vibrated in my pocket. My stomach lurched and I thought I was going to be sick. It got worse once I read the message from Darren: _That guy with the beard. He's the one that was performing the trick you watched. What are you doing with him?_

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Don't reply," Jack whispered in my ear, low enough that the rest of the group couldn't hear.

Before I could put my phone away, it buzzed again. _If he lays a finger on you, I'll kill him._

I choked halfway through a gasp and reached out with my free hand. Automatically, Jack slipped his fingers through mine. I fell against him, blinking several times in a row to hold back the oncoming tears. What was wrong with me? Daniel wasn't my favorite person in the world. He didn't even make the top twenty. Why was I reacting like this?

"What happened?" Henley demanded. "What did he say?"

I turned cloudy eyes to Daniel's face. _He doesn't have a beard, really, _I thought. _Just some scruffy stuff. It's not like he's Dumbledore or anything._ I wiped nonexistent tears away with the heel of my hand, took a deep breath, and looked at Daniel again. I nodded toward my kitchen. "We need to talk."

He looked a little wary about my sudden statement, but he followed me anyway. I led him to the space right next to the fridge, where we were safely out of sight and earshot of the others. I leaned my back against the counter; Daniel did the same across from me. "So?"

I racked my brain for a good way to break the news to him. "Daniel, um – "

"Darren threatened my life, didn't he?" Daniel cut me off, raising one eyebrow.

I ran a hand through my hair. "How'd you guess?"

"I'm pretty good at putting two and two together. But what do I have to do with anything?"

"He saw me watching your trick the night you and I sort of met. I didn't like you too much then. He must find it weird that I'm spending every day with you now." I hoped that sounded like a good enough explanation. In all honesty, I had no idea why Darren would think there was anything going on between Mr. Atlas and myself. That was a definite impossibility.

Daniel smirked. "From what I've observed, you don't like me too much now. I'm touched that you care enough to warn me."

"That's not funny, Daniel," I growled, narrowing my eyes at him. He chuckled and shook his head. "What's so funny?" I demanded.

He grinned. "Nothing." He turned away from me and looked toward the doorway. "We should probably go back out and act like everything's normal. We can keep this a secret for now. I don't want to worry Henley."

I shook my head. Henley? He was worried about Henley? If he was smart, he'd be more worried about himself. I suppose it was nice that he was concerned for her well-being over his own, but still…

A thought crossed my head and I grabbed Daniel's elbow. He glanced over his shoulder at me. "What?"

"I forgot to ask you about that night we met." I smirked, a mischievous glint in my eye. "How did things go between you and the Creature from the White-Trash Lagoon?"

His jaw dropped. I laughed a little and slipped around him, patting his cheek before exiting the kitchen. "Don't worry, Daniel," I called over my shoulder. "One day you'll be able to think up a comeback."

oOoOo

Another month passed, and it was time for us to move into our apartment. Daniel had gone earlier in the day to scope the place out and make sure that it really was suitable for us to live in. Satisfied that it was, he'd called and told us to come over.

Now, Merritt, Henley, Jack, and I were standing outside the door, debating whether or not to go in or just leave Daniel all by himself. I for one wanted to go inside and see how the remodelers had done, so I elbowed my way past Merritt and twisted the doorknob. It was locked. "Daniel? What the hell!" I shouted. I really hoped our new neighbors weren't elderlies. That'd be bad.

Jack was about to step up and unlock it himself, but then there was a tiny _click_ and the door swung open. Daniel stood before us with an easygoing smile. He took a step back and let us walk in before saying, "There's only three bedrooms. I'll leave the four of you to fight over the remaining two." And with that, he walked off down a hallway.

My three companions were watching after him in shock and confusion. I snorted. "That's what you suckers get for letting Daniel be the one to look the apartment over. Clearly, he gets first dibs." I turned my head toward what I presumed to be the living room. I spied a reclining chair and walked over. "Speaking of dibs, I get the recliner." I then proceeded to plop myself down on it, flipping over so my legs were hanging over the side.

Jack's eyebrows furrowed. "You do realize you can have one of the beds, right?"

"You do realize I don't really care, right?" I retorted, stretching my arms above my head.

Shortly after, it was decided that Jack and Henley would get the two remaining bedrooms and Merritt would take the couch that sat adjacent to my recliner of awesomeness. That was a good thing; it would be easier to think of ways to prank the others that way.

One particular afternoon, I was sitting in the recliner flipping through a magazine when a card hit me in the middle of the forehead. I looked up, but didn't see anything other than Merritt taking a nap on the couch.

Of course, I knew right away who'd done it. Nobody could throw cards like Jack could. The sneaky bastard was hiding somewhere, but I was too lazy to get up and find him.

Another card hit me almost right on my ear. "That's enough, Wilder," I called out, being careful not to wake Merritt. He may be a funny guy, but he was a bear when woken up before he was ready.

When I was hit in the nose, I decided I'd had enough. I forced myself to get out of my chair and walk across the slightly creaky wooden floor toward where I assumed Jack would be: around the corner in the hall that led to Henley's room. However, he wasn't there. I spun in a slow circle, trying to decipher where else he could have hit me from, but found none that I couldn't clearly see someone in.

A cry of outrage slipped past my lips when I saw him grinning from his seat on the recliner. _My_ recliner. "Oh, _hell_ no," I snapped, stalking forward. "Up. Get up."

"No."

I glared at him. "I told you to get up."

"And I told you no. Go find another seat." His cheeky smile made it really hard to hold in a laugh.

I shrugged. "Fine." Then I proceeded to turn around and flop down on his lap, being sure to stretch myself out until I was completely covering his body.

Jack groaned from beneath me. "You know, you're heavier than you look."

I reached around behind me and smacked his face. He just laughed, the force of it shaking me with him. I couldn't help but laugh with him. "You are _so_ mean to me," I gasped out.

"You're the one who sat on me!"

There was a grunt from the couch as Merritt rolled over in his sleep. Jack clapped a hand across my mouth and held a finger to his lips. When we were sure it was safe, he released my face and I climbed off his lap. He followed me off the chair and we retreated to the kitchen.

Henley was already in there, humming to herself as she spread jelly across her slice of bread. She repeated the process and took a bite. She only ate jelly on her toast; she was weird like that. She was also halfway through her first slice before she even noticed we were there. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Hi, guys!"

Daniel strolled in then, looking a little disheveled. His hair was sticking up in a few places and the shirt he'd worn the day before was rumpled. There were small bags under his eyes. He managed a halfhearted wave and poured himself some orange juice.

I gave Jack a knowing look, raised my eyebrows, and then nodded to the two of them. "Long night, huh?"

Daniel spit out his juice and Henley choked on her toast. "_What?_" she shouted.

"Nothing happened between us last night!" Daniel spluttered out.

I lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. "I never said anything did. Way to jump to conclusions, Daniel." My face was completely serious, whereas Jack was holding his stomach and laughing. Merritt let out a snore from the other room.

Just another typical day in the Five Horsemen house.


	5. Chapter Four

***Hey guys! Look, two updates in less than a week! It's a new record! Haha! So, what I've been wondering is: who is your ship in this story? I already know how this is going to end, but I'm still curious. Are any of you Andie x Jack shippers, or maybe Andie x Danny? Maybe even Andie x Merritt? I'd even go so far as to say Andie x Henley, if you're into that. Maybe you like creep stalkers, so you ship Andie x Darren. LET ME KNOW. I need to this stuff! So, read this chapter, and then leave me a comment! Enjoy, guys!***

Chapter Four

If you were to fast forward a couple of weeks, you'd find Daniel and I doing what we do best: arguing. Only this time, it had nothing to do with the task ahead of us or my not-so-subtle hinting at his questionable sexuality. No, this time, it was food. Which is a completely serious subject, believe me.

"We just had Chinese food last Saturday!" Daniel barked.

I rolled my eyes. "Daniel, there is never a bad time to have Chinese food. And, anyway, it's Sunday. It's technically been over a week since we've had it." I sniffed, crossing my arms. "Besides, nobody else wants Mexican food."

"Who says they want Chinese?" Daniel countered.

Jack cleared his throat. "Uh, you know, maybe if you asked us – "

"Shut up, Jack!" we yelled in unison.

This had been going on for almost fifteen minutes. Merritt, Henley, and Jack were standing quietly by and watching the ordeal unfold in front of them, their heads turning back and forth to watch each of us speak our turn, like they were observing a table tennis match. I'd have thought it was funny if I wasn't already so pissed off.

I lowered my voice into a dangerous octave. "Fine. If we can't come to an agreement on those, then what else do you suggest?"

"Thai food."

"So I can listen to you complain about the heat all night? No. Indian food."

"That's disgusting. Mongolian."

"Are you _trying_ to make me fat?"

"_You're_ the one that wanted Chinese!"

"Are you insinuating something, Daniel?"

"Maybe I am!"

"Watch your mouth, Atlas, before I break that pretty nose of yours!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

I made to jump forward, but stopped when I saw something. Well, it was something that I _didn't _see, rather. Our three companions had left us all alone in the living room. Their shoes were gone from their place by the front door. They'd abandoned us.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. My heart automatically accelerated to a million miles an hour before I remembered I'd gotten a new number. It couldn't be Darren.

I fished the device out of my pocket and unlocked it, finding a text message from Jack. _Sorry we left you with Danny. But we were hungry, and you didn't look like you were going to give up your fight anytime soon. We'll be back later. Why don't you try and talk things out with each other? Trust me; it'd be better for all of us._

Scoffing lightly, I held the phone out to Daniel. His blue eyes scanned the message quickly. His lips slowly rotated into a frown. "'Talk things out'? Are they crazy?" he exclaimed, passing my phone back over to me. "They do know that's pretty much impossible, right?"

I shrugged. My stomach took that moment to growl extremely loudly. "I don't know about you, but I'm really hungry right now." I began to walk to the kitchen. "I wish they'd have just split us up and taken us with them."

"Yeah, I know."

I rummaged through the cupboards, trying to find some source of sustenance. All I found was a box of noodles and some spaghetti sauce. Well, if I couldn't have Chinese food, Italian was the next best thing. I set a pot of water on the stove to boil and prepared the sauce, humming Fall Out Boy under my breath as I did so.

Daniel was watching me from the other side of the room. His eyes were following my every movement. I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Do you want some of this too? Is that what that look is? 'Cause you're starting to weird me out."

He coughed once and messed with the collar of his shirt. "No. Why would I want anything _you_ make? You could try and poison me."

"Don't tempt me," I muttered. "Excuse me for trying to be nice," I said a little louder.

Daniel rolled his eyes, like that was the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. He turned on his heel and stalked to the living room. I heard him flop down on the couch and flip through a few papers. He was probably going through Étienne's file again. That was better than the prospect of free food?

_Fine, _I thought to myself. _More for me._

A little while later, I had a plate of steaming spaghetti in my hands, with just a little bit of grated cheese on top. I made sure to sit on the couch next to Daniel where he could catch a whiff of the masterpiece I'd made.

I downed bite after bite while he watched, and I made sure to make noises of pleasure each time I swallowed. I heard his stomach growl more than once. I was nearing the end of my plateful of Italian wonderfulness when I chanced a glance at him. His eyes, which were previously fixated on my food, flicked up to my face.

We held each other's gaze for a minute before I cleared my throat. "Stop giving me that starving child look. There's more on the stove, if you want to quit being all high and mighty and get some."

I had no sooner said those words than Daniel had set down the papers, gone to the kitchen and, returned with his own plate. He sat back down beside me and only hesitated for a second before digging in. Guess he got over his fear of being poisoned.

I sat my empty plate down on the coffee table and then leaned back against the couch cushions. I could see why Merritt volunteered to sleep on it; it was crazy comfortable.

Daniel was almost finished with his serving of spaghetti; he set his plate next to mine when he was. "That was actually really good," he said, giving me a half smile. "Um, thanks for that."

I just shrugged and stretched my back out. "I couldn't let you starve to death. I may not like you, but I'm not _that_ mean."

He changed his position until he was facing me; our knees were pressed against each other. "So, uh, w-why _don't_ you like me? I mean, was it something I did, or is just, uh, is it just that there's no connection or something – "

"Daniel, stop. You're rambling again."

His cheeks turned pink, and I smiled. Poor boy was embarrassed, was he? I was in a generous mood, so I cut him some slack. "It's all right. I promise not to make fun of you this time," I told him with a smirk.

Daniel's expression became one of relief, and he moved a little closer. "So, back to the question: why don't you like me?"

I sighed and turned my head to look him in the eye. "Have you ever heard how first impressions are the most crucial?" He nodded. "Well, my first impression of you was that you were an arrogant dick and valued nothing more than yourself. That's changed a little bit; now I think you're an arrogant dick, but I think you care about Henley as well as yourself."

"You think I don't care about you at all?" He coughed once before quickly adding, "Or Jack and Merritt?"

I shrugged. "I just think you favor Henley over the rest of us. I mean, the two of you have a history, so why wouldn't you?" Crap, now it was me that was rambling.

Daniel smiled. "Are you jealous, Andie?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Jealous of what? Liking Henley doesn't make you any less of a _dick_, Danny!" I stopped once I realized what I'd just said. "Daniel," I corrected myself, but it was too late.

"You called me Danny." His face was smug, and I really wanted to punch him. "_You_ called me _Danny_!"

I crossed my arms. "So? That's your name, isn't it?"

His lips parted into a wide grin. He nudged me with his elbow, once, twice, three times. "See, Andie, you do like me. You just won't admit it."

I scowled at him. "In a friend sort of way, maybe. Nothing more. So you can climb off that high horse of yours."

"Of course just as friends," he said, making a weird face. "Why would I want to go out with you?"

As much as I sort of hated him and didn't want to be in any sort of relationship with him, those words stung. I mean, there wasn't anything wrong with me, was there? Apparently, I could only attract creepy stalkers. Not that I wanted Mr. Atlas to be attracted to me, anyway.

"The feeling is mutual," I snapped back.

He grinned. "You're not going to stop being this hateful with me, are you?"

"Never."

"Good. It'd be weird if you did." He paused and tilted his head, watching me carefully. "But, uh, well, who's to say we can't be friends when, er, nobody else is here?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you crazy?"

"Well, it was just a suggestion."

"A dumb one."

"You're the dumb one!"

I held up a hand. "Okay, stop, stop. Just stop." He closed his mouth and looked expectantly at me. I took a second to think his previous words over. "Maybe it's not so dumb after all. I mean, we could get a lot more done if we weren't fighting all the time. When we're alone, I mean. I'm always up for publicly humiliating you."

"Yeah, I, uh, I really appreciate that, Andie. Thank you," he said sarcastically.

I smirked. "So, friends in private, enemies in public?"

"Works for me."

I offered my hand, which he shook. "Well, _Danny_, I feel this is going to be the start of a wonderful 'friendship'."

"Well, _Andie_, I couldn't agree more."

We both chuckled a little, smiling at each other. It was then that I noticed how close we were. Our knees, hips, and shoulders were pressed together, and if Danny noticed, he showed no sign of it. I spied our dirty plates still sitting on the coffee table and stood to take them to the kitchen.

Leaning against the counter by the sink, I stared out the window at the fading sun and tried to calm my wildly beating heart. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ I chanted to myself, shaking my head back and forth. _Stop acting like a stupid teenage girl, Andie!_

I took a deep breath and returned to the living room with a smile on my face. Liking Danny was impossible. In a lovey-dovey sort of way, at least. He wasn't the kind of person to be in love with anyone, and neither was I. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had even a crush on a person. So whatever that feeling was, it certainly _wasn't_ me developing a fondness for Danny.

Instead of sitting by Danny again, I took my place in my recliner. I crossed my arms behind my head and looked at Danny. "It's amazing what good food can do to you, huh."

He nodded. "Yeah." Leaning toward the coffee table, he grabbed the remote for the television. "Do you want to watch some TV or something?"

"Sure."

"What do you want to watch?"

"I don't care. You can pick."

That was a mistake. I should have learned by now to never let Danny make a decision, because he was absolute shit at choosing. How do I know this? Well, there was the argument earlier about where to eat, and now, he was trying to make me watch Cake Boss.

"Danny," I said. Quite calmly, I must add. "What the hell?"

He looked over at me, slightly confused. "What? You don't like Cake Boss?"

"You want to watch a show about food, but you can't even make your own dinner?"

He glared at me. "Oh yeah? Then what would you rather watch?"

"NCIS or CSI or something," I answered, reaching for the remote.

He held it out of my reach. "Crime shows? What are you, a cop?"

"I'm about to turn into a cop and arrest your ass for picking bad shows!"

"Cake Boss is _not_ a bad show!"

"All they do is make cakes! That's the most boring thing ever! At least on NCIS, you get dead bodies and autopsies and guns and stuff. Much better."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You know why you're always so violent? Because you watch violent television. I think you need an intervention."

"You're going to have to hold one for Merritt, too, because he watches it with me!"

"Hey, I heard my name. Hope I'm not in trouble." The front door swung open and in walked Merritt, who had spoken, closely followed by Henley and Jack. They didn't look surprised to find us arguing.

Jack laughed. "See? I told you they'd still be fighting when we got back."

I scowled at him, but he just smiled back and took his shoes off. He stripped out of his jacket and threw it on top of me, covering up my face. I squeaked out a "hey!", balled it up, and then threw it back at him. He caught it easily, chuckling as he did so. "Did you miss me?" he asked.

I blew out a puff of air, dislodging one of my curls and causing it to fall in front of my eyes. I pushed it away and sat up. "I missed all of you. How could you even think to leave me with _him_?" I pointed at Danny, who stuck his tongue out at me.

Jack patted me on the head. "I'm sorry I put you through so much torture, but we were hungry and your fighting wasn't getting us anywhere."

"True that," Henley muttered from the couch, where she'd plopped herself down next to Danny.

Merritt put his hands on his hips in fake annoyance. "Why are the two lovebirds on my couch? We've got three beds in this house; go make use of one of those."

"Not mine!" Jack shouted, panicking a little. "Keep away from my room!"

Danny and Henley's faces reflected utmost horror. Both of their mouths had dropped open; their eyes were wide in shock. "But we're not – " Danny started.

"We would _never_ – " Henley said at the same time.

I was laughing so hard by now that I was in danger of falling out of the recliner. I was holding my stomach and attempting to suck in more air. I was sure my face was beet red from lack of oxygen.

Henley crossed her arms. "What are you laughing so hard about, Andie? We all know about you and Jack."

It was my turn to be absolutely mortified. Jack? They thought me and Jack had something going on? _Jack?_ "N-no!" I protested. "He's like my brother!"

Jack rested a hand on my shoulder. He didn't seem to be fazed at all by Henley's words. "Aw, come on, Andie. They were gonna figure it out sooner or later."

I whipped around to stare at him. "What are you saying?" I turned back to the rest of the group. Every single one of them was collapsing in fits of laughter. "Have all of you gone _insane_? What did the three of you _eat_?" But Danny was laughing too, so it couldn't be a bad bit of food.

"Relax, Andie, we're only joking," Merritt chuckled, shaking his head at me.

Henley smirked. "Yeah, Andie. Joke's on you this time, instead of the rest of us."

I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Was this something they'd come up with while they were leaving Danny and I to our own devices? I was getting a taste of my own medicine, and I really didn't like it.

Jack ruffled my hair. "You look so cute when you blush." I glared at him.

Note to self: never joke about Henley and Danny's relationship in front of everyone. And never blush when they insinuate about mine and Jack's.

Oh, it was going to be a _long_ rest of the year.


End file.
